Two U.S. lawmakers who visited Cuba said they met President Miguel Díaz-Canel and other senior officials and denounced what they called the effects of a U.S. energy blockade that they described as harming the island’s basic infrastructure and everyday life. Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Rep. Jonathan Jackson of Illinois concluded a five-day trip that ended Sunday after meetings with Díaz-Canel, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez and members of Cuba’s parliament, according to a report by The Associated Press.
In a post on X on Monday, Díaz-Canel said that during the meeting he “denounced the criminal damage caused by the #blockade, particularly the consequences of the energy embargo imposed by the current U.S. administration and its threats of even more aggressive actions.” He added that he “reiterated our government’s willingness to engage in serious and responsible bilateral dialogue and find solutions to our existing differences.”
Jayapal and Jackson said in a statement released Sunday that they were calling for a permanent solution to Cuba’s crises, after seeing the blockade’s impacts firsthand. They described the policy as “cruel collective punishment — effectively an economic bombing of the infrastructure of the country — that has produced permanent damage,” and said it “must stop immediately.”
Jayapal told reporters she believed recent steps by Cuba pointed to an opening for negotiations, including efforts to open the economy to certain investments by Cuban Americans living abroad, Cuba’s announcement that more than 2,000 prisoners would be pardoned, and the arrival of an FBI team to collaborate in the investigation of a fatal shooting involving a U.S.-flagged boat. She said those moves indicate that “the moment is here for us to have a real negotiation between the two countries and to reverse the failed U.S. policy of decades, a Cold War remnant that no longer serves the American people or the Cuban people.”
The AP report said Cuba’s government released the pardoned prisoners, with the released individuals described as accused of a variety of crimes and “none so far appear to be political prisoners.” The report also noted that both the U.S. and Cuba have acknowledged recently that talks are ongoing at the highest level, though it said no details have been disclosed.
The lawmakers’ comments came as the Cuba-U.S. dispute has centered increasingly on energy access and fuel shortages. The report said that in late January, President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba, while making an exception for a Russian ship that reached the island last week with 730,000 barrels of crude oil—the first petroleum shipment in three months to dock in Cuba. It said Cuba produces only 40% of the oil it needs, and described how fuel scarcity has worsened existing economic strain, including national blackouts, gasoline shortages and rationing, lack of public transport, cuts in working hours, paralyzed hospitals and surgeries, and suspension of flights.
The AP report said Russia has promised a second delivery of petroleum, though it was not clear when it might arrive. Experts cited in the report said the first shipment could produce about 180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to feed Cuba’s daily demand for nine or 10 days. Jayapal said such shipments were only temporary, saying, “We need a longer, permanent solution for the Cuban people and the American people.”
Jackson, meanwhile, drew a comparison between the oil blockade in Cuba and the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s coast, adding that Cuba “is the most sanctioned part of Earth.” “Our government is fighting to keep the Strait of Hormuz open so there is a free flow of oil around the world. We want, for humanitarian reasons, a free flow of oil, fuel, and energy in our own hemisphere,” Jackson said.
The report said the lawmakers also said they would prepare a report and continue working on initiatives proposed by fellow members of the U.S. House of Representatives to lift sanctions against Cuba, which they said are fueling an ongoing humanitarian crisis.